TRANSCENDENCE OF NORMAL LIFE

Dual Exhibition of Liu Shouxiang and Hou Wei

Yanjie Liu brings the highlights of Qingdao’s art scene to REDSTAR.

Jia Li art space has kept a low profile since opening in May 2016, but it houses beautiful decor and a brilliant collection. It’s spread across six floors of building C1, Ji Di Jin An ( 极地 金岸), which sits overlooking the sea by a small and peaceful Maidao fishing port. At present, Jia Li is exhibiting watercolours and tempera on wood by Liu Shouxiang and Hou Wei, with a whole floor for each artist.

Liu Shouxiang, professor and director of Hubei Art Academy’s watercolour department, is widely known for his still life and landscape watercolours; Hou Wei, a professor at the Art Academy of Shanghai Normal University, is famous for his ‘dust’ series, painting objects of everyday life coated with a thick layer of dust, in watercolour or tempera (paint mixed with an emulsifier that allows it to be painted on wood). The result is enigmatic and thought provoking, questioning the objects’ stories as well as wider ideas of materialism and waste. The gallery’s second floor houses their own art collection throughout the year, mainly watercolour paintings and prints including a few prints of Picasso and Salvador Dali.